This invention relates to warming and storage units, and, more particularly, to warming and storage units which are particularly well adapted for thawing artificial insemination materials for use, and in which such materials and the devices used in such operations may be stored at desirable temperatures while awaiting use in such operations.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel warming and storage unit.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel warming and storage unit which is particularly well adapted for the thawing and warming of artificial insemination materials, and for the storage, at desirable warm temperatures, of such thawed materials and the devices used in administering the same.
Semen, used in artificial insemination operations, is commonly packaged in capsules in the form of plastic straws or glass ampules, or the like, and stored in frozen condition in a suitable refrigerant, such as liquid nitrogen, or the like, at what may be considered to be extremely low temperatures, such as, for example, several hundred degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Normally, prior to using such capsules of semen in an insemination operation, the semen therein is thawed. Preferably, in the interest of minimizing the "shock" of the semen, with resultant loss of spermatozoa activity, the thawing of the semen is carried out rapidly, but without subjecting the same to undesirably high temperatures, which would also result in weakening or killing sperm cells. Heretofore, thawing of such capsules of semen commonly has been carried out by one of two procedures, namely (1) "air thawing," or (2) placing the capsules in a vacuum bottle, or the like, containing warm water. Both such procedures have undesirable features.
"Air thawing," as the term implies, primarily consists of permitting the capsule of semen to thaw at the temperature of the surrounding air at the location where the thawing is being carried out and is sometimes accompanied by rolling the capsule between the palms of the hands of the operator in an endeavor to speed the process. Such an operation, at best, is tedious, and, in addition, because of the slowness of the thawing operation, commonly results in a substantial amount of the aforementioned "shock" to the sperm cells. The undesirableness of this operation is most apparent when the temperature of the air is low, such as when the operation is being conducted out-of-doors during cold winter weather.
The use of vacuum bottles, or the like, on the other hand, while tending to carry out the thawing out process at a more desirable rate, if the water in the vacuum bottle is at the proper temperature, is also undesirable for several reasons such as, for example being difficult to control and maintain the temperature of the water in the vacuum bottle; such procedure requiring replacement of the water in the bottle as the water is cooled; and, being generally cumbersome, and the like.
It is an important object of the present invention to enable the disadvantages of the methods heretofore used in thawing capsules of semen, used in artificial insemination operations, to be overcome in a novel and expeditious manner.
Another object of the present invention is to enable such capsules of semen to be thawed quickly, in a novel and expeditious manner, at the most efficacious rate of thawing.
An object ancillary to the foregoing is to enable the rate of thawing of the semen to be readily and accurately controlled in a novel and expeditious manner.
A further object of the present invention is to enable the shock caused to semen by the thawing thereof to be minimized in a novel and expeditious manner.
Also, as in known in the art, after frozen semen has been thawed and warmed to a desired temperature, such as, for example, a temperature of 90.degree. or 95.degree.F, if it is again subjected to a relatively low temperature, such as, for example, cold, outdoor winter temperatures, the sperm cells are again subjected to shock which may weaken or kill a substantial percentage of them. This, which is sometimes referred to as "shocking back," most commonly occurs when capsules of thawed, warm semen are placed in "guns" or other devices, for use in injecting the semen into the cervix of an animal to be impregnated, when the operation is being carried on out-of-doors in cold weather, and the gun, or the like, into which the capsule is inserted, is at the outdoor temperature. It is an important object of the present invention to prevent such "shocking back" of sperm cells to be caused.
Another object of the present invention is to enable such guns and devices to be preheated in a novel and expeditious manner to a desired temperature.
Yet another object is to enable such guns and devices to be stored in a novel and expeditious manner at such a desired temperature.
A further object of the present invention is to enable both capsules of semen and the devices in which they are to be used in insemination operations to be stored in a novel and expeditious manner, at selected, desired temperatures.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel unit for thawing, warming and storing semen, and which may be effectively used for maintaining the semen at the proper temperature both indoors and out-of-doors, whether the outdoor temperature is warm of cold.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel electrically heated warming and storage unit for the thawing, warming and storing of semen used in artificial insemination operations.
An object ancillary to the foregoing is to afford a novel electrically heated unit of the aforementioned type, which may be effectively used for prolonged periods of time while it is disconnected from any source of electric power.
Another object of the present invention is to affored a novel warming and storage unit of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient in operation and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.